TNG to streamline Kazakhstan's oil and gas transport

The government of Kazakhstan has announced the formation of a new state-owned company to streamline the country's oil and gas transport. Called Oil and Gas Transport (TNG), the new company will be based on the existing state companies KazTransOil and KazTransGaz.
TNG is expected to operate existing oil and gas pipelines, and to develop plans for the construction of new pipelines, including feasibility studies and organisation of finance for their construction. TNG will also have a say in all of Kazakhstan's domestic and international hydrocarbon transport projects.
The government has named a board of directors to include deputy energy and natural resources minister Uzakbay Karabalin, deputy economy and trade minister Aleksandr Andryushchenko, state property and privatisation committee chairman Maksutbek Rakhanov, KazTransOil president Timur Kulibayev, and Kanatbek Safinov, the head of the legal department at the prime minister's office.

KazTransOil carries about 80 % of the oil produced in the country, operating more than 6,400 km of trunk oil pipelines. The company also has 39 pumping stations and tank-farm oil storage capacity of 1.2 mm cm. KazTransOil has held all shares in KazTransGaz since its founding in February last year.
KazTransGaz now has more than 9,000 km of trunk pipelines, and 26 compression stations with 308 gas pumping units. The company expects to carry more than 140 bn cm of gas this year, up from about 117 bn cm in 2000.
In addition to taking over KazTransOil and KazTransGaz, TNG will also assume a 50 % stake in Kazmortransflot, 90 % of Aktyubinskneftesvyaz, 99 % of Munai-Impex, 90 % of KazTranSvyaz, 100 % of the Atyrau international airport and helicopter company Euro-Asia Air, and 3.5 % of communications company Bailanys. In early May, Kazakhstan announced hydrocarbon production figures for the first quarter of 2001, including 13.07 mm tons of oil and gas condensate, 3.53 bn cm of natural gas, and 1.69 mm tons of condensate.